The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 21:22-23, “Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, ‘God is with you in all that you do;
23 now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but according to the kindness that I have shown to you, you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned.’”

When you have lived in a country all of your life, it’s understandable that you know how things
are done, who is in authority, and to whom you should go for information regarding things you
don’t know. This was somewhat the situation with Abraham. He had ventured into the land of
the Philistines and was conversing with Abimelech, who was the Philistine leader.

Phicol, the Philistine military commander, had noticed and liked the demeanor of Abraham. “God is with you,” he said. What we notice of someone we meet for the first time, is the impression we are likely to have of them thereafter. Phicol’s impression of Abraham is probably
what encouraged Abimelech’s impression of him also. We just cannot dismiss that first impression!

It’s important also to notice that Phicol insisted that Abraham swear by the LORD that he would not deal falsely with him. I have to wonder how some troublesome things would work out if we were always closely connected with the LORD! Undoubtedly, there were those in that day, who pretended to be servants of a god, but were not truthful. Hopefully, such will never be true of us. People perceive of God what they see in us!

How spiritually stimulating it is to hear someone say, “Oh, you gave me too much money!” Not
many people are like that today. But, when someone says that to you, it’s an “open door” for
the sharing of the Gospel of Christ: “You must be a Christian!” Whatever the reply, the door is
open for sharing.

There’s always someone, who’s out for all he can get. True believers are out for all they can give! Be always a true Christ-like believer!

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We will will never know that Christ is all we need
until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom